An international team criticizes the initial handling of China and "global health" with the emergence of the virus

Scientists warn: Half of the Corona recoverers are still susceptible to infection with the new strain

Russian citizens line up to receive the Corona vaccine in Moscow.

EPA

Scientists have warned that the new strain of the Corona virus, which was discovered in South Africa, may be able to infiltrate parts of the immune system of about half of the people who were infected with different strains earlier, while an international team criticized the initial treatment of China and the World Health Organization with the emergence of Virus.

In detail, the British newspaper "Daily Mail" quoted researchers as saying that it appears that a mutation in a specific part of the virus's external spinal protein gives it the ability to "escape" from the antibodies.

Academics from South Africa concluded that 48% of blood samples from people previously infected with the Coronavirus did not show an immune reaction to the new strain.

"It is clear that we have a problem," one of the researchers said.

The chief researcher based on the study, Benny Moore, said that people who had strong symptoms of the Corona virus in the first infection and had a stronger immune reaction were less likely to be infected again.

It is noteworthy that antibodies are a major part of the immunity that results from vaccines, but it is not the only part, so if the virus continues to mutate to escape from the antibodies, this may mean that the vaccines must be redesigned and given again.

But experts said that until now there is no reason to believe that vaccines will not work, perhaps because they produce a stronger immune reaction than any very moderate infection, or because they produce different new types of immune cells.

At least 54 people in the United Kingdom have been infected with the new strain of "Corona" that was discovered in South Africa.

And these cases were discovered in random tests, so the number is likely to be much higher.

It appears that the virus is mutating to become more widespread by about 50%, and infiltrates from some antibodies that were formed after infection with other strains of the virus.

The study indicated that this means that people who were infected with the "Corona" virus three months or more ago may not have full natural immunity if they were infected with the latest strain of the virus.

Yesterday, prominent British doctors called for giving priority to ethnic minority groups in obtaining the vaccine against "Covid-19" resulting from infection with the "Corona" virus, because they were disproportionately affected by the epidemic.

The president of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Martin Marshall, told the Guardian: “We are concerned about what recent reports show, that people from BAME communities (black people, Asians and ethnic minorities) are not only more likely to be negatively affected by the virus, but they are also. Less likely to accept getting the "Covid-19" vaccine when it is offered to them. "

Marshall urged the Ministry of Health to include "race" as a factor in determining the priority of vaccine recipients, and said that general practitioners could use discretion to allocate doses according to the needs of their communities.

Marshall and other medical experts have called for information campaigns in the field of health, aimed at minority communities.

Studies have shown that ethnic minorities are almost twice as likely to die from Covid-19 disease than other citizens.

On the other hand, an international investigation team saw, in an interim report published yesterday, that China's response to the first cases of infection with the virus last year was very weak, and the WHO's response may have been very slow as well.

The "Independent Expert Group on Pandemic Preparedness and Response" was formed last year at the request of member states of the World Health Organization, based in Geneva, to evaluate the response and determine the lessons learned from the spread of the Corona virus.

"What is clear to the team is that public health measures could have been implemented more vigorously by China's local and national health authorities in January," said the group of experts, led by former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

The team pointed out that it was not clear why the WHO emergency expert committee was convened only on January 22 of last year, and why it was unable to agree to describe the situation as a global health emergency before January 30.

The team also noted that the World Health Organization did not describe the virus outbreak as a pandemic until early March, although using this term would have helped “focus attention on the severity” of the situation.

However, the team did not hold China and the World Health Organization alone responsible.

He pointed out that although it was clear in January of 2020 that Corona cases had been recorded in a number of countries, very few governments used the information available to stop the spread of the virus.

The report added: «Containment measures should have been implemented immediately in any country with a potential case.

However, this did not happen ».

Prominent British doctors call for giving priority to ethnic minority groups in getting vaccinated.

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